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2016 PRESIDENT’S WELCOME TO FIGIJ

The stimulating meeting in Florence, the occasion of catching up with old friends and making new ones, is already fading into the busy work life that we all lead. But like you, I have many warm memories of that busy week.

I have also come away from Florence, not only with those wonderful memories, but more determined than ever to try to ensure that FIGIJ and this new Board will continue to build on the work that has been done, and to make a difference to the health of girls and young women around the world.

The challenges that face each of us in working with young women are different and varied depending on where we live and work. The problems are different in different parts of the world, in fact they can be different within the same country and even in different ends of the same city. Sometime the problems are clinical challenges, other times they are related to social or psychosocial problems. At times we are tackling issues relating to the attitudes of our communities and our politicians to the problems of people, or how our health care systems approaches the health of our young patients.

There are no single solutions, but I know that everyone who has been working in PAG will have made some difference in a problem they have needed to fix. The challenge is how best to help each other tackle the challenges. We need to be able to help each other take on the challenges and to continue to make these improvements.

Ellen Rome, the immediate past president of FIGIJ had been working hard to try and identify from each of you what the biggest challenge you face in your country in regards to the health of girls and young adolescents.

Rather than potentially feeling overwhelmed by these challenges ahead, I would like to suggest that we also try and find out “what challenges or problems have you tackled and made progress or had successes”? That way we can turn to each other and lend a hand with the ideas and processes that have lead to improvements and in the health of girls and young women.

I would like to thank the retiring Board members, who each have contributed to FIGIJ.

I would also like to welcome the new Board members – let us make sure that we help each other, to share the tasks of making FIGIJ an organization that is known for the work it has done to improve the health of the young women of the future.

But most importantly I would like everyone who is involved in the care of girls and young women to know that FIGIJ as an organisation, the Board and I think I can safely say, every single one of us who works in this field – we are all only too happy to assist you in what ever way we can, so that you too can make a difference to the lives of the young women of the future.